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Food System Flaws Revisited and Ayurveda

A friend recently showed me a video from the Ted Talks series that she thought would spark my interest. If you are unaware of what the Ted Talks series is you are in for a treat! “TED is a nonprofit devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. It started out (in 1984) as a conference bringing together people from three worlds: Technology, Entertainment, Design. Since then its scope has become ever broader. Along with two annual conferences — the TED Conference in Long Beach and Palm Springs each spring, and the TEDGlobal conference in Edinburgh UK each summer — TED includes the award-winning TEDTalks video site, the Open Translation Project and TED Conversations, the inspiring TED Fellows and TEDx programs, and the annual TED Prize. The two annual TED conferences, in Long Beach/Palm Springs and Edinburgh, Scotland, bring together the world’s most fascinating thinkers and doers, who are challenged to give the talk of their lives (in 18 minutes or less).”

The video that really caught my attention is of a young man named Birke Baehr. He discusses his issues with our current food system and discusses his distaste for the way things are currently done. To see someone so young understand and attempt to make a change in the ways he and his family consume and even think about food.

This young man is a revolutionary! Think if we could just start educating children about how much of a difference they can make in their own lives and eventually the changes we could make to our food system! He also discusses the Slow Food Movement which I have discussed in previous blog posts.

While keeping in mind how your food is grown, you also should keep in mind how that food effects your body type. I was recently introduced to the idea of “Ayurveda, the ancient science of self-healing from India, is the art of maintaining balanced health in the healthy person and alleviating disease and suffering in the afflicted person. In Ayurveda, it is known that perfect health exists when the three fundamental energies (doshas: vata, pitta and kapha), digestive fire and enzymes (agni), waste products (malas), tissues (dhatus), soul (atma) and mind (manas) are in balance.”http://ayurvedaseattle.com/index.php?page=92&CID=28

So what body type are you?? That is exactly what I asked myself. In this journey to Holistic Health, Ayurveda seems to be a great solution in better understanding how food interacts with my body type. Knowing your type can help you understand what foods, exercises, and lifestyle elements can support and nurture your health and which ones can cause imbalances in your life. In order to find out your own body type you should take this quiz.

I am a Pitta. After quiz you receive a summary of what your type is. Here is mine:

The Pitta Type

Pitta types are determined and strong willed with good digestion.

The Pitta’s primary organs are the small intestine and stomach.

Pittas tend to be hot, oily, and light.

Pitta is associated with the fire element, and tend to have a fiery quality.

When a Pitta becomes imbalanced, he or she may notice skin rashes, burning, inflammation, fever, ulcers, anger, jealousy, copious urine.

In order to be balanced, Pittas should remain cool, avoiding excess heat, steam or humidity.

They should also avoid excessively oily food or fried foods as well as caffeine, alcohol, red meat, hot spices, or salt, choosing instead to eat fresh fruits and vegetables and whole grains.

Pitta types should also try to get plenty of fresh air. Expression of emotions is also important.

Considering that almost all of these qualities are true, I decided to research a little bit more into what being a Pitta means. The characteristics are listed here. Also, most importantly, the types of food to eat and which foods to avoid based on your body type to create balance are listed here . For another summary, I have found that the ‘Life in Balance’ website can give more information and techniques on how to balance certain body types.

I hope this has helped you take more control over your holistic health journey!